PgM Governance
''Practical Programme Governance Model. : A website for practical programme governance, which provides an interactive model comprised of gateways, organisation structure, role definitions, process maps, baseline contents etc., is available at: :: http://www.p3m.org.uk/pgm/govern/governance.htm Purpose of Governance. : Although the term governance originated to cover the actual process of government, it is used widely in business environments and it is within that context that it is used here. : The purpose of Good Governance is to provide the environment that facilitates, or even forces, the right decisions to be made by the right people at the right time. : What "good" and "right" mean will be different for different organisations and circumstances and and may change over time, even for a single organisation. : For a Western democracy, Good Governance and the Right People are completely different to that for a despotic dictatorship, at least as perceived by those in charge of the government. : Equally, within a business environment, Good Governance and the Right People will vary according to the circumstances and the specific organisation structure to which the term is being applied. : However, this is not intended to be a philosophical coverage of governance but a practical guide that can be used and adapted for business initiatives that are organised as "Programmes". : Governance needs to be aligned to the objectives of the Programme so that the appropriate balance of control and empowerment is in place to optimize the probability of success. 'Programmes & Governance. : There are many different ways in which programmes can, and need to be, organised and governed. This is not intended as a substitute for individual initiatives to define their own governance structures and processes but it does offer a blueprint that can be used and modified as needed for specific situations and environments. : Change Programmes are about driving change to deliver business benefits. The prime purpose of the governance regime is to ensure the benefits are achieved and to provide the tools to measure performance, direction, and threats to the benefits together with a set of tools to ‘tweak’ the Programme as necessary. : Thus the governance of a change programme needs to establish and implement the functions, processes and procedures that define how the programme is set up, managed and controlled. : Change Programmes involve a substantial amount of change for individuals, staff, operations, support services and the business environment. Governance arrangements need to be established to provide a framework for the upheaval and transformation that will take place. Programme governance provides the ‘backdrop’ for all activities of managing the programme and achieving the programme’s outcomes. : Within a change programme, each sub-programme project and initiative should have its own direction-setting and decision-making processes, with individuals responsible for leading and managing these processes. Governance for these ‘chunks’ within the programme needs to be integrated with programme-level governance to ensure they remain aligned to the objectives of the programme. The programme level should focus on dependencies (cross initiative and external) and the risks and issues that may affect the programme as a whole. : The following principles should be adopted in the governance of change programmes: · There should be a single vision, stated as the Programmes desired end-state, · The vision is developed and owned by the programme executive team, · The vision will be achieved through a consistent approach across all change initiatives, · The governance empowers the programme team members and stakeholders to exercise their authority to meet their objectives within a clearly understood and visible framework. Programme Scope. ''' : A change programme needs to encompass all relevant and associated transformation initiatives and to have authority over them. : It is rarely, if ever, possible to effect major change in an organisation through disparate and independent initiatives. : Although it would be theoretically possible to manage a programme to completion by managing all the delivery activities as dependencies, the complications and risk involved would almost certainly result in a sub optimum conclusion, if not complete failure. : Ideally, the change programme should have no external dependencies and should have direct control and authority over all relevant delivery agents. : This is not always practicable and it is sometimes necessary to ‘sub-contract’ parts to external agents; this is often the case with programmes which have a large technology component. : If it is not possible to bring all dependencies under the direct control of the programme, it is advisable to minimise such external dependencies and to ensure that the delivery agents have a significant stake in the success (or significant pain in the failure) of the programme. : The programme does not need to include business as usual activities but does need to take cognisance of business as usual commitments and needs.